Culture experiences

I was shocked by the news on Sept 23 in Vietnam News entitled “Traffic safety month sees rise in accidents”

The ministry of public security’s road traffic department released data showing rises in both the number of accidents and the numbers of deaths and injuries. It recorded 627 accidents with 460 fatalities and 528 injuries from the beginning of September to September 15…This issue didn’t follow a logic of more patrols and heavy punishments would reduce the number of violations… The government of Vietnam has requested Japan to help fund a project in order to improve traffic conditions on urban and major national road systems.

What shocks me is not only the number of traffic accidents in 2 weeks but also the measures the government took in order to tackle the issue. It seems requesting funds from other countries is the first step of solving problems. Germany donates US3.75 million to improve health services; NIH from US helps to fight HIV… the list can go miles long. The problem is when these funds dry up, what measures would the government take to keep the work going? Could they adapt from the experiences and develop ways to meet their own needs? It’s like the project I am working on right now. We showed them how to make a faster and more reliable diagnosis on encephalitis, but it seems to me the hospital isn’t going to implement this technique to their lab. Actually, I have been trying to push everybody to do something that should have been done before my arrival. I would have to say almost nothing was prepared when I arrived. The only difference from the last time I visited was some new equipment, scattered in different rooms of the lab. I have been asked this sensitive issue of “the budget” many times and I got the feeling that they will do whatever they have to do to get the funding for the next year but that’s about it, nothing more. That means if we are going to evaluate the project of clinical trial of EV71 at the end of the year then that’s the only project they are going to invest money in. Of course finance is a big issue here, but it’s the system that makes finance a problem here if you ask me. There are some doctors who don’t like the system as well, but their voice won’t be heard because of their ranking in the hospital. I wonder if someday these once considered “heretical” doctors reach the top level; would they stick to the ideals they were pursuing when they were in a lower ranking or would they be perverted and see only the so-called “a big picture”? Maybe they would never reach the core by possessing different thoughts. From where I stand, it seems the purpose of living here is not pursuing happiness but salvation.

I asked some of my friends how much they get paid for being a doctor here in Vietnam and the answer was almost unbelievable, which is only USD 30 per month. How can anybody survive when a bottle of water costs one third of your daily salary? No wonder everybody packs their bags and leaves at 16:00 promptly everyday then heads to their private clinics where doctors here nicknamed them fish farms and fishing means examining patients. The purpose of staying in a government run hospital is to gain reputation. It’s like paving the road with lure to attract fish to the fish farm so they can do the fishing, except the lure is the reputation and the fish are patients. So there is a unique paradox here: everybody works hard, after all, most people have two jobs, yet they seem to not take it seriously.

Something New

I was waiting for my friends in the lobby of my hotel one day; we were supposed to have lunch together. One of my friends showed up and told me that one of his friends was getting married and he invited me to go to the wedding, so we went to the wedding instead. I wanted to try the “cyclo” before I leave the country but I never had the nerve to give it a try. Lucky for me, my friend was on a motorcycle that day so I was happy to have the chance to experience what it feels like to drive in a bustling street on motorcycle. Well, except for driving through one intersection, it was not as terrible as I imaged it would be even though we saw a few accidents on the way. I was embarrassed for dressing like a “Tai ke” (T-shirt and sandals) when I got to the wedding since everybody was nicely dressed. The groom works in a pharmaceutical company operating on foreign investments. In the wedding I saw many foreigners from different countries, such as India and of course from Taiwan. The wedding started with ballerinas dancing and then the host introduced the parents from both families and the bride and the groom, accompanied by dancers were sent to the stage on a conveyor belt. After a short speech, the bride and the groom filled champagne glasses and cut the wedding cake. The ceremony ended with balloons being released and the sound of them popping mimicked firecrackers, then the lunch dishes were served.

Just like a wedding in Taiwan, the newly wedded couple and both families’ members offered toasts, table by table during the meal. Also, a professional band was hired to do a performance during the lunch but it ended up as a karaoke and dance for guests, unlike weddings in rural areas of Taiwan, where you might expect a strip dance or elegant classical background music for a wedding held in urban areas of Taiwan. The party here revealed the fact that every body was having a good time. Another difference in custom from Taiwan, here the bride and the groom don’t have to change their dress every 20 min or so. After the lunch, the newly wedded couple stood in front of the gate to show their appreciation for the presents from guests. I had my picture taken with the bride and the groom.

Back in Taiwan I had never celebrated the double ten national holiday before. This year I had the honor to participate in the 95^th double ten national holiday of the Republic of China that was held in Legend Hotel by Taipei economic and cultural organization in HCMC. I was told to dress nicely so I borrowed a white long sleeve shirt , any color but red, since the political issues in Taiwan, from the lab and that wasn’t an easy task since Vietnamese are relatively smaller in general. I decided not to take the camera with me so I wouldn’t look like a photographer from a newspaper or agency, then I regretted it immediately when we arrived at the venue. It was nicely decorated; on the stage the activity was written in 3 languages, Traditional Chinese, English and Vietnamese. It was nice to hear people talking in mandarin since I haven’t spoken mandarin for nearly one month and my ability to it is deteriorating. I was eager to speak to someone however I found it’s difficult to cut into the exchanging of business cards or conversations about corporate revenues. I introduced myself as a person who is helping the lab in Children Hospital No 1 with a cooperative project. I looked at them and I got the feeling they didn’t care a bit. Anyhow, it was an extraordinary experience for me, it was the first time I celebrated the birth of my country and it took place in a foreign country. By the way, the buffet was nice, especially the apple tart. I can still taste the smell of cinnamon and the creamy texture of the apple in my mouth.

Something about the Children Hospital N0 1

It is expected to have an afternoon shower everyday during the wet season in Ho Chi Minh City. Usually days start with a sunny morning followed by a cloudy noon and then an afternoon of showers, just enough to wet the floor. One day in the hospital, I walked out of the office and I found something was different. Usually the hallway of the hospital is full of people; you would see people sleeping on the floor, clothes hanging between the pillars etc. but it was empty that day! Then I realized the corridor was flooded and everybody was calm. It seemed flooding was not a new thing for them, well it was for me, so I borrowed a camera and took pictures of the moment.

A few of my moon festivals were spent in the other countries such as Italy but none of them feel the same as in Vietnam. Mid-autumn festival aka Moon festival is celebrated in Vietnam by having moon cakes and decorative lanterns displayed but it’s not a holiday. Instead of a holiday for family reunions, moon festival here is more like a holiday for children and lovers. The children hospital number 1 had arranged folk activities in the courtyard of the hospital on moon festival. It started with two dragons chasing each other followed by dancing lions, a martial arts display etc. You can still see the influence of Chinese left behind after 1000 years of domination. Later that night, I went to the center of the city. In front of the reunification palace, the night was lit up with two gigantic disco lights and lots of stalls selling stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with moon festival such as handicrafts made from coconut shells. There were two stages on each side of the DL Le Duan, there weren’t any shows but children talking on the stages. The only way to tell this was the celebration for the moon festival were lanterns that weren’t even lit up hanging along the DL Le Duan and an arch with two lantern shapes on each side.

I had buffers and reagents prepared for the experiments, I asked doctors to start sending me some clinical specimens to see if the system works. I got 2 suspected entrovirus infected patients’ throat swabs and vesicle specimens. I had the RNA extracted and one-Step RT PCR performed and the result revealed entrovirus positive by electrophoresis. Everybody in the lab was happy with the result and the PR of the hospital, who I haven’t seen for weeks, showed up and congratulated me. I have never knew news could be conveyed so efficiently. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was some kind of espionage system built in the electrophoresis device. Once the result showed positive for what they were interested in, the key person would get informed.

The lab was planning a trip to Vung Tau beach about 100km from Ho Chi Minh City with me last weekend. However Xianshan typhoon struck the center provinces of Vietnam, so the journey was postponed. This weekend we managed to go and I was told that they would pick me up at my hotel at 6:00. Saturday, I was awakened by the phone ringing, at 6:15! I rushed down to the lobby and felt embarrassed for keeping 8 people and an ambulance waiting in my hotel. Well, taking an ambulance for a city tour wasn’t a first for me, but this time the flashing light was installed on top of the car and the hospital logo was emblazoned on the side. I got in the ambulance and wondered: would they turn on the siren if we got stuck in a traffic jam? Of course turning on the siren is useless in Ho Chi Minh City if we get stuck in a traffic jam, but the advantage of traveling in an ambulance is no toll fees are needed, thus we can bypass the lines at the toll stations.

Another week in HCM City-the legend of the Ky Hoa Hotel

One day after work, I walked back to my hotel and the staff at the front counter told me that because they were going to replace the carpets on the 3rd floor, where I have been staying for the pass two weeks, they would like to ask me to move to the 4^th floor and they would send someone to help with my luggage. I agreed and told the staff that I didn’t need help with my luggage, just give me a moment to pack and we’ll be set. The moment I stepped in my room and closed the door someone came knocking. I opened the door two staff people came in and started helping me to pack. Obviously my message wasn’t delivered correctly as always, so I watched one man taking care of my underwear and socks while the other stuffed all my toiletries into a bag then disappeared. Before I’d finished packing, they came back and grabbed anything that wasn’t packed by hand and took me to my new room.

Later that night, I discovered the programming of the cable TV on 4^th floor were different from the 3^rd or from rooms on the left side of corridor to the right side. Anyway, I watched the discovery channel; a program called “A haunting” was on. It’s about a family living in a haunted house and when the program was about to show the most scary paranormal phenomenon my room went black! Well, I am not that chicken but this scared the hell out of me. Soon I realized it was not a paranormal phenomenon happening in my room but the power failure in the entire hotel. A few minutes later the power was restored but it went off again minutes later. I was happy that I was not in one of the freaky elevators of the hotel when it happened.

Speaking of the elevators, to my surprise, they had the elevator installed! I wasn’t expecting to see that elevator installed before my departure since I barely saw any construction going during my stay. Well, I am happy they did it because now I won’t have to take the elevator that doesn’t always stop at an exact position every time you open its gate. Sometimes the gap could be 10cm different in height. Now they are tearing down the other old elevator and installing a new one. Who knows I might be able to see it before I leave.

I use the laundry service in the hotel. Usually staff would have laundry delivered around 17:00 the next day. I always get naked while I am in the room to save my butt from burning off in the high temperature, so it takes a moment for me to get dressed before opening the door when the bell rings for my delivery. Every time I called out “A moment please”, but the bell ringing just wouldn’t stop, they press it almost every 10 seconds, and one time the staff even opened the door with the master key! I don’t know if it’s because they didn’t hear me or they didn’t know what I was talking about but now every time I hear the bell ring, I get nervous. I even put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the doorknob at 17:00 around once and when I was just feeling relaxed the bell ran! I’ve never known a staff so determined on delivering laundry to their customers as in the Ky Hoa hotel. I am still thinking of a way to have my laundry delivered at an appropriate time.

Since I have been staying in the Ky Hoa hotel for more than 2 weeks, I have tried almost everything on the menu for breakfast. Now, I don’t even have to open my mouth to have staff in the restaurant deliver the only good drink in the restaurant, Lemon Juice, to my table. But there is a mysterious page I haven’t ordered from yet because it’s written in Vietnamese only. That’s news for next week; the legend of the Ky Hoa hotel goes on.

Transportation in Ho Chi Minh City

You can flag down a cab in Ho Chi Minh City easily, the problem is not all taxi drivers know where you are going if you can’t speak Vietnamese. Bringing a hotel card with Vietnamese on it with you is your best bet. Most of the hotel cards have one side in English and the other side in Vietnamese, make sure you show the driver the right side or you might find yourself in a middle of nowhere after a 30 min drive which happened to me once. When you pay the money to your driver it is expected that they would extra charge you one or two thousand VND by claiming they don’t have any change. Arguing is futile usually but hey take it easy, after all it’s only 1 cent USD and it might be little to you but it’s enough for them to buy a drink or something. If you don’t like the feeling of be ripped off and pay them the exactly amount, you might hear them mumbling in Vietnamese as you owe them or something. The good thing about taxi drivers here is that they seem not to have picked up the trick: detour. Although you might find yourself disoriented for having different paths to and from your destination, it’s just the one way system in certain areas.

“Cyclo” is another common transportation in Ho Chi Minh City. When walking in the street you will see many people waving at you, offering a drive on a motorcycle, that’s the cyclo. If you don’t feel like taking one just smile and say no, most of them will leave you alone and search for the next potential costumer. However, some of the cyclo drivers will approach you and pretend they had given you a ride before and try to get you on his bike. The most annoying one is those who have failed to get you on one of their bikes then try to foist you prostitutes. They act like mosquitoes in this wet season in Ho Chi Minh City: lock up the targets and pursue the hunting by following you and solicit blocks before giving up. Lucky most of them only linger in Dong Khoi St. and D Le Loi. Despite all that, it’s a good way to explore the city if you are visiting here in dry season which is April to November. Before you get on a cyclo make sure you have agreed with the driver about the money and be brave, for your riding in a motorcycle world without a helmet on.

Other transportation such as manpower three-wheeler still can be hired in some tourist attractions. But it’s sad to see an old man riding tourists around in the middle of a day for a living. Of course if you are confident to ride in the bustling traffic jam on your own, you can always rent a scooter or a bike and don’t worry about the parking, just park your scooter alone the sidewalk where security guards are sitting in the street.

Sunday Mass

I participated in my first Sunday Mass in Notre Dame Cathedral Vietnam. To my surprise, English was mainly spoken during the whole mass. That’s good for me; at least I can understand what they are talking about. During the Mass, I noticed that the locals were devoted and seemed touched even though I don’t think they understood what the priest said in the sermon. On the other hand, some westerners didn’t seem to get into this Mass too much. It seemed like they were just doing something they were supposed to do. I even saw an old lady yawning. I know many people went to church when they were children because their parents made them go. By the time they reach their teens, they stop attending church as much as when they were children, unless they are experiencing some kind of emotional fluctuations and need to be uplifted. However when they get older, maybe 60 or 70, many of them start to go to church again. One of my friends said they are preparing themselves. It’s interesting to see the transition in one’s attitude to religion no matter what the cause.

I always wonder--what does the bread of communion taste like? I tasted my very first bread of communion in this Sunday Mass but I still can’t find a word to describe exactly what it does taste like.

One day in Ho Chi Minh

Notre Dame Cathedral
The late 19th century cathedral has a neo-Romanesque facade with twin towers. A statue of the Virgin is located in the center front. Lots of stained glass windows were lost during World War Two and have never been replaced. Today in the interior neon tubes emphasize the altar and other prominent spots.



Post Office
The Post Office recalls European railway stations, particularly in the vaulted and glazed interior. Its "modern" skylight also recalls European buildings of the later nineteenth century (like Paris' Les Halles or Milan's Galleria). The three-story building has a central pavilion with flanking symmetrical extensions. Like European buildings influenced by Renaissance architecture, it has clearly defined bays and logical fenestration.





Reunification Palace the former presidential palace of South Vietnam.
On the morning of April 30, 1975, the first communist tnaks broke through the gates of the presidential palace. A soldier then ran to the fourth floor to unfurl a VC flag. General Minh, Who had only become the head of state of South Vietnam 43 hours earlier surrendered. It is now called the Palace of Reunification



Municipal Theater or Opera House
This restored three-story theater has an auditorium with 1800 seats and with modern light and sound equipment. originally, it was built by the French and intended as an opera house. In 1955 it became South Vietnam's National Assembly building. Today the building has been renovated as a theater for a variety of traditional and classical performances--plays, concerts, ballet, opera, and Vietnamese traditional dance. Colonial architecture in Vietnam usually adopts Greco-Roman motifs--here a large central arch, a type of Ionic column, coffered ceiling, and the caryatids (though less modestly clothed than Greek examples). The applied ornament, balustrades, cartouches, and roof are particularly French.




People's Committee Building (formerly City Hall)
The French colonists, who occupied Vietnam, wanted to feel at home. Not only did they import their culture, religion, and food, but they imported French architectural styles as well. Cathedrals, like Notre Dame in Ho Chi Minh City and St. Joseph's in Hanoi, imitate French Romanesque and Gothic ecclesiastical styles. Numerous villas of French design border spacious avenues, also of French lineage. The Post Office in Ho Chi Minh City was designed by Gustave Eiffel. (A copy of his tower was erected in Dalat, a Vietnamese town favored by colonists for vacations.) This civic building, originally the City Hall, was modelled on a similar building in Paris. See this site for a photograph of the Paris Hôtel de Ville (or city hall). The Paris City Hall was rebuilt after the 16th century original building was set to fire during the 1870 Parisian revolution.

Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, Reunification Palace, People's Committee Building, Municipal Theater

Reference: Vietnam Index; Reunification palace